Tag: Alebrijes

What’d we Miss?

What’d we Miss?

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

It was a regular year, until it wasn’t.

Not in a world shaking, business shuttering, economy crashing, global pandemic way.

But it was a hefty change in the way we lived and the work that was needed.

We bought a house.

My waking hours shifted from leisurely repair projects punctuated by writing inspiration, to an incessant to do list of packing, repacking, scheduling, painting, rescheduling and suddenly recalling undone tasks.

I had hoped that when we moved in, I could return to writing more. I neglected to notice how the minor house issues you put off become a lot more vital once you move in.

I’m under no illusions now. This project sits firmly to the side on my list of hustles (in the non-profitable category). But I remain dedicated to that idea, that if you show the world how you play, it will show the world who you are.

If we look at and cheer for eleven teams around the world, it can show us how to live. This year, we cheered more than we watched. But we can still see how to live.

How did they do, while life forced us to make other plans? What can we learn from it all…here are their results and our thoughts

Rosenborg

Women’s Record: 9 W-2 D-6 L// 30 GF-20 GA

Men’s Record: 16 W-4 D- 5 L//75-GF 38-GA

Story: as has been the routine, Rosenborg has all kinds of attacking strength. They spent most of the summer pouring in goals. Émilie Nautnes and Sara Kanutte Forness led one line while mid season acquisition Casper Tengstedt set the other one on fire (15 goals in 14 matches…yikes!)

But each side also faced some serious challenges. The men couldn’t seem to hold a defensive shape, scoring and ceding goals in droves en route to another distant third place finish. Meanwhile the troll kvinner got knocked down by Real Madrid’s ladies side and seemed to end an otherwise stellar season in a rotten funk losing three of their final four to miss out on another crack at the Champions League next year.

Lesson: balance yourself, neither your strengths nor your struggles define you.

Minnesota

Women’s Record: 13 W-1 D-1 L//39 GF-10 GA

Men’s Record 9 W-4 D-9 L//34 GF – 41 GA

Story: Locally we had some absolutely marvelous moments this summer. I say that not only because I had you boys with me at a few matches, but because the quality of the games was superb.

For a stretch, no one was playing better soccer than Minnesota United. Dayne St. Clair was stopping everything hit his way, Emmanuel Reynoso was connecting with everyone around him. Robin Lod had made me look utterly foolish by becoming someone people around the world were eyeing hopefully.

It all came undone of course. The Loons ended up squeaking into the playoffs and then bowing out quickly, but it was still wonderful while it lasted.

Likewise the first season for Minnesota Aurora was practically perfect. The team went unbeaten throughout the regular season and combined superb defense with a dynamite attack. Sarah Fuller anchored the defense in the goal, and Morgan Turner poured in the goals, and the team became a vital part of the larger community connecting players, fans, coaches, and staff. Even though it ended in defeat at the final hurdle (seems to be a theme for our favorites), it was a marvelous way to spend a summer.

(As an added bonus, the youngest member of Aurora, Bayliss Flynn, signed to join the Montana Grizzlies, so she is the second athlete to play for two of our favorites)

Lesson: There’s no place like home.

Freiburg

Men’s Record 15 W – 5 D – 3 L// 42 GF- 22 GA

Women’s Record 6 W – 1 D – 3 L// 25 GF- 14 GA

Story: Janina Minge has emerged as a leading innovator offensively for die Freiburg Frauen. But, they have continued to lack a decisive element that would vault them up into the Bundesliga’s top tier alongside Wolfsburg, Bayern, or Frankfurt. (Maybe they could use some of Minnesota Aurora’s squad…just saying)

But that’s exactly where the men’s team has found a new stride. Christian Stretch’s steady presence has been a model for players who bring out their best every week, even with an extra competition in the Europa League to challenge them, the Griffins are having another tremendous season, with Mathias Ginter and Christian Günter leading the defense, and newly adopted Ritsu Doan joining Vincenzo Grifo to lead the attack.

Lesson: much as we want the shiniest trophies, being your best, regardless of the result can be the greatest reward

Round Glass Punjab

Record: 4 W- 1D-1L//7 GF-5 GA

Story: While most of the world turned their attention to the World Cup in Qatar, Punjab’s season got started, but with a different look than usual. Gone is last year’s dominant scorer Kurtiss Guthrie (off to play in Scotland against Ross County), in are a host of eastern european veterans. Gone are the run of British coches, in is Greek manager Staikos Vergetis. But best of all, Nepali keeper Kiran Limbu Chempjong (though, he hasn’t been as unbeatable this year as he was in his previous run with the club).

Still the special winter season on the subcontinent has a long way to go before we’re done, so we’ll sit back and enjoy what is rather than wonder about what was.

Lesson: Whatever else you focus on, life carries on.

Alebrijes de Oaxaca

Record: 4 W-9 D-5 L//22 GF-18 GA

Story: Alebrijes closed out the spring season with a sterling showing. They seemed to have everything well handled in attack and defense. But then they were undone in the playoffs, and come the fall campaign seemed to have lost all their mojo. The departure of Juan Portales made the defense less stable, and the crucial finishing touch to turn draws into victories. And then they lost in the playoffs.

Lesson: what seem like your best days and hardest days all end in the same place.

Vozdovac

Record: 9 W-4 D-6 L//17 GF-22 GA

Story: The Red Dragons continue to methodically build their team and their identity the hard way. Match by match, game by game, step by step. After saying goodbye to a raft of their regular talents, the team got significantly younger during the offseason, bringing in a raft of under 21 talent to nurture and grow on their own. Even though the team still hasn’t hit the top of the table (thanks again Partizan and Red Star), they are consistently a team to challenge you, and Milos Pantovic has proven himself (at only 20 years old) to be a dynamic scorer. (I’m still hoping for some more break out showings by Bogdan Jocic, and Borisav Burmaz.)

Lesson: Hope is a thing with dragon wings.

Montana

Record: 7 W-7 D-6 L//25 GF-17 GA

Story: The years we’ve kept track on this blog have been a consistent study in the excellence of the Griz. So much so that it started to seem like a forgone conclusion. The Griz were certainly prepped to bring another conference title home after holding their own against non-conference opponents (including ties against much more prestigious schools including Creighton and close defeats to Pitt and Portland).

But every year is different, and it seemed as though the other teams found a path through the vaunted Griz defense, or at least that there was more pressure than usual on Camilla Xu. Maysa Walters and Delaney Schorr were a solid goal scoring combination, but ultimately there was more depth and diversity in attack from Northern Arizona and Idaho (whose goalies also managed to stop more shots than Xu). The Griz did what they do well, other teams just did it better.

Lesson: Game Recognizes Game.

Grenoble

Women’s Record: 4 W-1 D-5 L//18 GF-13 GA

Men’s Record: 7 W-5 D-3 L//16 GF-12 GA

Story: The records don’t tell the whole story for the Alpiners. Nicolas Delpine’s side continued to showcase the skills and talents of Sherly Jeudy week in and week out, but (as we’ve seen before) the defense has been more suspect, giving up about three goals per game. But, things have turned around well the last couple of weeks and the team heads into the break with two wins in a row (three if they win in the Cup this Sunday)

Meanwhile, the men dusted themselves off after a lackluster previous season and are well positioned to, once again, put themselves in contention for promotion during the season’s second half. The team has been on a seven match unbeaten run with a trio of new attackers leading the charge. Pape Meissa Ba, Jordan Tell, and Abdoulie Sayang are all new to the squad in the year 2022, and they have led the scoring. But the team has been Matthias Phaeton, the Guadeloupe player who has featured in every match as a sub or a starter and has bopped everywhere there’s grass in pursuit of the game. Add this to our beloved backline squad and you have a strong team that may just get stronger in the spring.

Lesson: Never underestimate the element of surprise

Legon Cities

Record 3 W-8 D-5 L//8 GF-8 GA

Story: I love Legon as much as I love Nkatekwan, and as you boys seem to have inherited my zeal for all things peanut buttery, I think you’ll know that’s a lot of love. Legon loves Jonah Attaquye as well. He’s only 22 and he has fast become their talisman. And yet, Jonah can’t do it all on his own. The increasing pressure of carrying the load for the team, distributing the ball to scorers who struggle to connect and running the show. This season, he and defender Suleman Mohammed have missed a total of 5 minutes across all their games.

Lesson: Love is Love, but dependency is dangerous.

Ross County

Record: 7 W-4 D-10 L//25 GF-31 GA

Story: A year ago, the fall campaign was anything but kind to the Staggies. The team looked to be every bit as shaky as it was when it faced relegation, but then the ship was righted and they got their best final table position in about a decade.

But that was with Reagan Charles Cook playing chef du’jour. With his departure for Belgium, County had to try to fill in with a raft of other players to match his same creativity and finishing. While midfielder Yan Dhada brings an impressive resume and strong creativity, we’ve yet to see either Jordy Hiluwa or Jordan White dominate the game the way Regan did. So it’s a lot like last season…but that turned out pretty well so lets be patient.

Lesson: Enjoy the comfort food of home cooking while it lasts.

Emelec

Women’s Record: 1 W-1 D-4 L//4 GF-11 GA

Men’s Record: 7 W-5 D-5 L//23 GF-17 GA

Story: Los Bombillos and Las Electricas had a little less productive campaign than in prior years. The goals seemed to dry up and there was no clear answer in goal. Laliz Tenorio, the woman who is older than your Uncle Simon and twice as powerful, led the attack (as best she could). Unfortunately, things were so ineffective, that Emelec was dropped out of the top Women’s League in Ecuador and will now need to earn promotion again. I’ve been looking for where I can find coverage of the amateur women’s leagues in Ecuador, but I may not be able to find it…hopefully we’ll see Las Electricas again soon.

Likewise, the men who offered such dominance in prior years, could not break through to the upper echelon of the league. In the past they might have been able to pull some surprises against opponents in knock-out stages, but this year it was only the champion of each half of the season. The team did break through into the knock out stages of the big continental battle of the Copa Libertadores, bowing out to former Brazilian boss “Hulk”. Even though his career in Guyaquil looks to be over, Sebastian Rodriguez closed out his three year career with the club as a leader and definitive goal scorer. And as ever, Romario Caiceido continues to be the air raid master in his dangerous balls.

Lesson: Part of the journey is the end, and that’s beautiful too.

Standings

There are two more weeks of relevant matches, but the standings are pretty clearly set. Grenoble and Legon Cities could reach the mid-table and Punjab could climb as high as 3rd. But Rosenborg BK has set themselves up for their second Sippy Cup in three years.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Rosenborg BK–b3611171.862.231.2
Minnesota–b288151.801.841.27
Freiburg–b2614141.702.411.54
Punjab11571.651.611.48
Alebrijes–b141481.561.280.83
Vozdovac–b149121.461.031.14
Montana–b7761.401.250.85
Grenoble Foot2110211.401.251.19
Legon Cities1113101.351.000.62
Ross County139181.201.131.45
Emelec–b1713180.671.501.27
Table Updated 12/15/22
b–Team is between seasons
Weeks 12-15: For Real…

Weeks 12-15: For Real…

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

We live in strange times. 

There are skirmishes in the shadows of nuclear reactors, an infectious disease that appears to be biding its time in preparation for a fresh onslaught, and a trio of billionaires racing to space while people on the ground go hungry.

In times of great uncertainty I have been struggling to hold on to the little joys and victories of the day. I often feel so overwhelmed that it’s hard to appreciate what we do have.

In the past four weeks I’ve had minimal to no time to watch, write, or think about soccer. I have been pulled this way and that by an incessant barrage of obligations, necessities, and anxieties.

It would be easy at this moment to close up shop, acknowledge that life is best spent in living moment by moment rather than plopping 121 footballers’ 90 minutes of gameplay under a microscope in a search for meaning.

But the truth is that these are the little joys and victories that can inspire more than putting your head down and trudging on with the work. These games probably don’t matter that much. This blog about the games certainly matters less. But by god, if we can find a moment of joy, let’s do it.

News & Notes

Gaspar & Lawrence

Minnesota United brought in a new defender, albeit under some different circumstances.

Regular Left Back Chase Gaspar left the team to deal with substance abuse. Addiction is a plague, and there is no simple cure. The person Chase Gaspar is far more important than the soccer player. And we’re so grateful that he sought and received help.

In the meantime, Kemar Lawrence of Jamaica arrived to play the game in Gaspar’s stead. And when Gaspar returned this last week, he was welcomed back warmly.

World Cup Comes Closer

The single greatest celebration of the beautiful game happens every four years. Last time, Alex you were 9 months old and being strolled to various viewing parties in a car seat during a few glorious summer months. You sipped on a milk bottle as I drank beer and shouted at the French national team.

This time, there will be two of you, it will be in November and December and the tournament will be in Qatar. There’s plenty of awkward details around that particular decision (ones I wrote about years ago on a different blog). As I’ll be working and you’ll be in school, there will be far less revelry this time…with a few exceptions.

On Thanksgiving Day, Ghana will play Portugal, and I will be fighting your Grandpa Mark for the controller. On the next day, the USA (who missed the last world cup) will face England in a good ol’ fashioned super-power battle (the English hate when they don’t beat us…it’s great). Alex’s birthday will see great stars of France and Argentina in action (though not against eachother). And it will all come to an end on December 18th a week before Christmas…whew…

Staggies Assure Survival

Scotland has a different style than most other leagues. Rather than have every team face each other from the beginning to the end of the year, Scotland splits the league in two so that the best teams face the best teams for the title, while the worst teams face the worst teams for the chance to survive. For the first time in three years, the Stags will be among the best teams in Scotland, and be certain to play in the top division again next season. (They still won’t win because they aren’t the unstoppable duo of Rangers and Celtic…but this counts as a win on Scotland’s sliding scale)

Dope Threads, Bro

The fine folks at Minnesota Aurora dropped their new jersey and it looks as beautiful as you would expect. Or maybe you wouldn’t. You boys mostly like the bird on the Loons’ jersey, so…we’ll take what we can get.

Freiburg Flies On

One quick celebration among the mostly non-specific results: Freiburg did win their semi-final cup tie against Hamburg which means that in Mid-May they will be playing for a big fancy trophy for the first time in their most recent Bundesliga run.

Player of the Week

We’ll take a beat to acknowledge some strong play throughout the last month, so here’s a chance to tip our cap to Dayne St. Clair’s keeping, Romario Caicedo’s defense, Vincenzo Grifo’s playmaking, and Harry Paton’s finishing. That’s a strong quartet And yes, that’s double the dose of Canadians!

Dayne dreaming of Qatar

Standings Update

So many updates! Let’s start at the top where Alebrijes has rocketed to the top of the table after spending so much of the past few years mired in the bottom. Freiburg and Punjab aren’t far behind, and there’s a similar horde trailing behind. Minnesota is above Ross County due solely to goal difference. Emelec’s strong start has faded and so has their standing, but they can still make a comeback. After all, look at Grenoble who is a strong 9th and ready to capitalize on any missteps

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Alebrijes de Oaxaca9431.941.30.7
Freiburg12651.831.91.4
Punjab6231.822.01.6
Minnesota3221.571.10.9
Ross County6441.571.31.3
Rosenborg4231.561.91.3
Legon6541.531.30.7
Emelec4531.421.81.3
FK Vozdovac3341.201.21.0
Grenoble72111.151.21.5
University of Montana–b——————
Table Updated 4/20/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, April 20th

Forward Madison v. Minnesota United [Cup]

Thursday, April 21st

FK Vozdovac v. Vojvodina

Cumbaya v. Emelec [M]

Friday, April 22nd

Le Havre v. Grenoble [M]

Emelec v. Deportivo Espuce [F]

Saturday, April 23rd

Golukam v. Punjab FC

Freiburg v. Borussia Munchengladbach [M]

Minnesota United v. Chicago

Sunday, April 24th

Rosenborg BK v. Arna-Bjornar [F]

Ross County v. Celtic

Asante Kotoko v. Legon Cities

SC Freiburg v. SC Sand [F]

Rosenborg v. Molde [M]

Emelec v. Aucas [M]

Rodez v. Grenoble [F]

Monday, April 25th

Tuesday, April 26th

Mohammaden SC v. Punjab FC

Week 11: Let’s Try this again

Week 11: Let’s Try this again

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Results

Punjab FC 4 – 3 Aizawl

It sure looked like Punjab was going to take their first loss of the campaign, even with two goals pulled back for offside Aizawl had shown the better style throughout the match. But then came a late red card to Aizwal’s right back and suddenly the onslaught was back on. Within 60 seconds Kurtis Guthrie (yup, him again) and defender Bikash Yumnam pulled the team from the edge of defeat to the hallowed halls of victory with a little poke from a dangerous corner kick to do the lasting damage.

Freiburg 3 – 2 Wolfsburg [M]

Vincenzo Grifo led the charge out of the gate blasting two beauties in the first half. When Wolfsburg stormed back to equalize late on, Silver Fox Nico Schlotterbeck made the difference to keep Freiburg very much in the mix for non Munich/Dortmund honors with only eight matches left to play.

Grenoble 0 – 0 Rodez [M]

The good news, Grenoble has stopped shipping goals like they were square-jawed sci-fi dudes with good chemistry (…no…no takers on the slash fiction joke…? okay moving on). The bad news the offense has also dried up. They’ve scored four times in nine matches under Vincent Hognon. (That this is a marked improvement shows just how low they had fallen prior to Hognon’s arrival…but it may not be enough improvement to save them from the drop).

Great Olympics 1 – 0 Legon Cities

Sigh…just when you hope the Royals are on the cusp of something, they go and lay an egg again…

SC Freiburg 7 – 1 FC Carl Zeiss Jena [F]

Carl Zeiss Jena may be a the foot of the women’s Bundesliga, but they had the lead for a solid half an hour in Freiburg. Then the lady griffins took charge. Seven goals from six players in about forty minutes was a heck of a showing. It may not win any trophies, but I bet it felt darn good.

Vozdovac 1 – 1 FK Spartak Subotica

The Red Dragons split their points on top of the mall in Belgrade. Milos Pantovic struck a solid rebound back into the goal to give them a surprising lead. While the defense did a good job of forcing Spartak into some ugly shots, their befuddlement on a late long ball opened it up for Spartak to waltz it in and take a point.

Grenoble Foot 3 – 3 Montabaun [F]

Perhaps les hommes de Hognon could use a conversation with Grenoble’s women’s side. Three goals marks a high point in the league for the ladies of the alps, though to be fair one of them was one of the slowest rollers I’ve ever seen. Still, points are points, and I’m not one to complain (though I would love if more than one phone could get video of the game)

NY Red Bulls 0 – 1 Minnesota United [M]

It takes a bit of effort to go into New York and come away with one point, let alone all three. But that’s what the Loons managed against the Red Bulls over the weekend. It was in no small part due to Dayne St. Clair’s showing in goal. The keeper made 8 tremendous saves (including a ball don’t lie penalty save), and though statistics suggested he coulda/shoulda given up 4, he kept the score line clear to let the single volley strike from Luis Amarilla send Minnesota home happy.

Gualaceo SC 2 – 1 Emelec

While Romario Caicedo got a late consolation goal, Los bombillos struggled with newly promoted Gualaceo. A little boost to the new comers to best one of the best sides in all Ecuador last year, but hopefully not the beginning of a trend.

Punjab FC 1 – 2 Sreenidi Deccan

Punjab lost their unbeaten run against the Andhar Pradesh side and more specifically Nigerian striker, Louis Ogana. It likely didn’t help that Kurtiss Guthrie finally had an off night for the Northwestern side and the attack was thoroughly neutralized.

Pau 0 – 1 Grenoble [M]

Don’t look now but les Grenobloises have gone three whole matches without a loss! Even though Jordy Gaspar had ten sloppy minutes to get himself banned from the next week of matches, Brice Mableu held on to enough attacks to ensure that Yoric Ravet’s penalty salvaged a crucial three points for Les Alpines who moved above the drop…phew!

News & Notes

(Omitted due to time constraints–hey, I’m writer, editor, publisher…I do what I want!)

Player of the Week

There were some solid showings this week by teams who played more than once, but you can’t ignore the elephant in the room: Freiburg Frauen dominated their match this week. And while lots of people scored goals, I couldn’t keep my eyes off 19 year old Swiss midfielder Riola Xhemaili who managed some absolutely staggering assists and key passes to set up several of the goals (playing in a line with other powerhouses like Janina Minge and Hasret Kayici doesn’t hurt either.

Standings Update

Standings will be updated following the next week

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Emelec2102.32.30.7
Punjab1102.03.01.0
Alebrijes de Oaxaca5321.81.21.0
Ross County5331.641.51.2
Freiburg6341.621.61.6
Legon Cities4421.601.40.6
Minnesota0201.01.01.0
Grenoble3370.90.91.5
FK Vozdovac1130.80.81.4
University of Montana–b——————
Rosenborg BK–b——————
Table Updated 3/16/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, March 16th

Grenoble Foot v. Yzeure Allier [F]

Alebrijes v. Tlaxcala FC

Thursday, March 17th

Friday, March 18th

Saturday, March 19th

Greuther Freuth v. Freiburg [M]

Celtic v. Ross County

Napredak v. Vozdovac

Grenoble v. SC Bastia [M]

Minnesota United v. San Jose Earthquakes [M]

Sunday, March 20th

Bayer Leverkuesen v. SC Freiburg [F]

Punjab FC v. Neroca FC

Rosenborg BK v. Avaldsnes [F]

Merignac v. Grenoble Foot [F]

Legon Cities v. WAFA

Emelec v. Delfin

Monday, March 21st

Tuesday, March 22nd

Tapatio v. Alebrijes

Week 8-10: Whew boy

Week 8-10: Whew boy

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

There will come a point in your lives boys, when you seem doing something vital from 4:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night. When that time comes, remember that you are enough just as you are, and your blog about parenting and soccer can take a break…assuming there are still blogs…and soccer…and parenting…you get the idea.

Results

Cimarrones 0 – 1 Alebrijes

Mineros 4 – 2 Alebrijes

Alebrijes 1 – 0 Celaya

Alebrijes continued their strong form. But as the defense goes, so goes the whole team, the slip against Mineros was the first time the team dropped points after scoring twice, but confirms that they’ve only lost matches after they give up two or more. Andre Alcaraz continues to be a brick wall in front of the goal, and Miguel Vallejo has done a masterful job on free kicks

Emelec 4 – 0 CSD Macara [M]

Independente del Valle 0 – 1 Emelec [M]

Emelec 2 – 2 Guyaquil City

Emelec’s return to action in Ecuador came with a trio of games against top opposition, and they didn’t disappoint. Sebastian Rodriguez has been huge so far, holding down a tight knit defense and scoring in the first two victories of the season while Alexis Zapata has shown up as a creative force for the attack. (As an added perk, rocking my Emelec jersey to school got multiple kids excited to talk about things…and then their learning!)

Hibernian 2 – 0 Ross County

Ross County 3 – 1 St. Johnstone

Motherwell 0 – 1 Ross County

Ross County 1 – 0 St. Mirren

The Staggies had an impressive showing over the last three weeks, so much so that suddenly, a team that seemed destined for demotion has hauled themselves up into the top half of the league. Again, Regan Charles Cook and Joseph Hungbo were huge for the Stags, while Alex Iacovitti and Jack Baldwin anchored a stellar showing by the back line.

Augsburg 1 – 2 Freiburg [M]

Freiburg 3 – 0 Hertha BSC [M]

Bochum 1 – 2 Freiburg [M-Cup]

RB Leipzig 1 – 1 Freiburg [M]

VfL Wolfsburg 4 – 1 SC Freiburg [F]

After a long lay off the ladies of Breigsau came back a bit rusty, but in their absence the men seem to have found a second win. Winning 3 of 4 and getting a vital draw with a fellow top six contender helps Freiburg stay close in the hunt for European places. Even better they are now just two steps away from the team’s first hardware in years with a spot in the semi-finals of DFB Pokal sealed against Hamburger SV. There were no shortage of strong performances, but we’d like to send a special tip of the cap to Nico Schlotterback’s defense and Rolland Salai’s role on the wing.

Nimes 3 – 1 Grenoble [M]

Nimes Metropole Garre 2 – 0 Grenoble Foot [F]

Grenoble 0 – 2 Toulouse [M]

Nancy 0 – 1 Grenoble [M]

Grenoble got one great win over the last three weeks. That is not a great record. But it did come with a fine showing from Brice Mableu back in goal with five saves and an assist. Now…can everybody in blue do that? (and can they do it against teams that aren’t sitting next to them on the bottom of the table?)

Vozdovac 0 – 0 Radniki Nis

FK Radnicki 1923 1 – 0 Vozdovac

Vozdovac 0 – 3 Red Star Belgrade

Mladost Lucani 2 – 4 Vozdovac

Let’s not dwell too long on the discouraging showings against Radnicki 1923 or the monsters of Red Star. A resilient draw against the better than most Radniki Nis team was nice, and the ability to show up and stick with a plan in Lucani was much appreciated. The Dragons didn’t have to do much to scorch the blue side’s defense, but the final goal by Marko Ivezic on a give and go with Stefan Hadjin was a beautiful bit of build up on a grey and dreary day.

Legon Cities 1 – 1 Hearts of Oak

Real Tamale 1 – 1 Legon Cities

Legon’s been unbeaten in their last 5 matches (though they’ve only won two of those). It’s all the more impressive as recent top choice keeper: William Essu is just 19 years old and standing up to the best shots that can be offered by much more established sides. Every year, it feels like Legon grabs a great keeper from nowhere: and here we are again. Medaase pii William!

Punjab FC 2 – 2 Churchill Brothers

Kenkre 0 – 4 Punjab FC

There was no shortage of offense for Punjab as they resumed their I-League campaign. Kurtis Guthrie has towered over the competition both literally (he’s 6’2″ in a team of 5 footers) and figuratively, scoring four goals over two matches to create a dominant attack (their eight goals outpaces every other team). Despite the slip against Churchill (a long standing local power), there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic for Punjab as they go for glory.

Philadelphia Union 1 – 1 Minnesota United

Minnesota United 1 – 1 Nashville SC

A couple of draws don’t tell the whole story for Minnesota United. The team has looked surprisingly organized in midfield, going beyond Emmanuel Reynoso’s usual one man show. Hasani Dotson has been on point this year (after a less consistent 2021), and the team has been well organized from front to back even though the supposed offensive juggernaut has yet to click. (To be fair, Philadelphia and Nashville are two strong opponents).

News & Notes

Mr. Poopy Butt

President Poop Butt

That has become your boys’ go to insult of late, and while I’d really rather we not have it at all, if we’re going to use it it better be directed towards this snivelling, self-righteous schmuck. Vladmir Putin has such a hard time believing that his country can still be important without forcing others to obey him that he’s put millions of people at risk to soothe his own bruised sense of self. If you need a hug Vladmir, I’m happy to oblige, but if you want to keep hurting people, well you really are, in the words of Alex, “Vladmir Poo….p Butt!”

Most Systems Go

In the time we were away a few leagues returned into action: Serbia is back to finish their current season, with Vozdovac going from an outside shot at Europe to a much more realistic shot at relegation. Punjab FC restarted their season after the long COVID Delay (like a rain delay, but with more spike proteins). And Minnesota United sent out their attacking force and defensive suggestion to the new American season.

Only the Griz (still focusing on school thank you very much) and Rosenborg (almost wrapped up with the preseason) have yet to play.

Kurtis is Cruising

Player of the Week

Okay, there are several players to recognize after several weeks of dereliction of duty. So let’s acknowledge some of the biggest difference makers for three teams who had tremendous runs over the last few weeks. Miguel Vallejo has rejuvenated Alebrijes; Nico Schlotterback has been instrumental in keeping Freiburg near the top of Germany, and Kurtis Guthrie is a one man wrecking crew in the Indian league. So Miguel, Nico and Kurtis you are our three players of the week.

Standings Update

In their short time back, Emelec and Punjab have shot to the top of our standings, while Alebrijes Oaxaca is showing a strong third, and the next three sides are separated by only 4 hundredths points per game. Strangely, two teams have the same average points/goals for and goals against per game: Minnesota (which after two matches isn’t too surprising) and Freiburg (which after 13…is a bit)

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Emelec2102.32.30.7
Punjab1102.03.01.0
Alebrijes de Oaxaca5321.81.21.0
Ross County5331.641.51.2
Freiburg6341.621.61.6
Legon Cities4421.601.40.6
Minnesota0201.01.01.0
Grenoble3370.90.91.5
FK Vozdovac1130.80.81.4
University of Montana–b——————
Rosenborg BK–b——————
Table Updated 3/9/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, March 9th

Thursday, March 10th

Friday, March 11th

Punjab FC v. Aizawl

Saturday, March 12th

Freiburg v. Wolfsburg [M]

Great Olympics v. Legon Cities

Vozdovac v. FK Spartak Subotica

Grenoble v. Rodez [M]

Sunday, March 13th

SC Freiburg v. FC Carl Zeiss Jena [F]

Gualaceo SC v. Emelec

Grenoble Foot v. Montabaun [F]

NY Red Bulls v. Minnesota United [M]

Monday, March 14th

Tuesday, March 15th

Punjab FC v. Sreenidi Deccan

Pau v. Grenoble [M]

66. Where you’re supposed to be.

66. Where you’re supposed to be.

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

For the first time in over two years, your mom and I went away. Away from you, away from home, away from all the lingering routines and history of home and all the plans and preparation that goes into a day in the life of us and you.

One of (the many) things made harder by the pandemic is living in the moment. So much of our time is spent missing the way things were of strategizing and imagining ways to navigate the world safely.

Being parents amplifies that even more because you boys aren’t in a planning place yet. If you could choose, every day would be pajama day and every meal would be chocolate and fruit. So it falls to us to remember what worked before, and what needs to happen in the next week (or more realistically, next two hours).

I’m not complaining mind you. I’m happy to help you by handling the past and the future. I’d just like to join you in the present more often.

Dear Boys,

Knowing your love of foxes I figured you’d like this painting from one of their shows.

That’s what came to mind last weekend. Your mom and I went to see our favorite band: Cloud Cult. Possibly the most philosophical band of the modern era, and for sure the only one that incorporates live painting into every show. The crowd was kept small, the spaces held separate, and still it was wonderful.

The band has a lot of songs that question what we do, how we do it, and how we are often torn between our memories, our plans, and our present. And as I sipped on a cider and sat next to your mom, I tried to set aside my busy brain for being present in the moment.

That’s a surprisingly difficult thing to do.

Busy brains know how to be busy, and they do it without really being asked. It’s true as we go through our day to day life, and it’s even true when we watch a simple soccer match. Lots of fans aren’t there in the moment, we’re casting our eyes to the standings to explain a shift in fortunes, or at the broader story to predict what’s next for a beloved coach or player.

A more efficient Oaxaca…who cares why?

I’m a part of that practice. I can’t help but look back at where Alebrijes de Oaxaca was at throughout last season and marvel at where they are now. How have they done it? Was it promoting Juan Portales to captain? Was it changing managers? Shifting styles?

Ultimately finding the answers to those questions is satisfying, but with or without the knowledge, it’s a pleasure to watch the players in their explosive kits embrace and cheer one another. It’s fun to hear the stadium roar again and feel like great things are possible. Knowing why it’s happening is fine, but ultimately, it’s great that it is happening at all.

If you give this moment your fullest attention

We’ll just keep going forwards with no need for going back.

Cloud Cult. “Time Machine Invention”
The straw that stirs the scotch

It’s also relevant at the individual level. The last month has been the golden age of Regan Charles Cook. The Staggies’ winger has been a powerhouse throughout the Scottish premiership even though Ross County remains a relative afterthought.

That stunning showing is the kind of thing that sets tongues to wagging. How much longer will he keep it up? If he does how long until he gets to move up to a better, more influential club?

While those questions of the future buzz around, it doesn’t help us to appreciate what it is. Regan Charles Cook is kicking butt. His speed, his enthusiasm, his mere presence has made County highlights a joy to watch.

Turn off the phone and throw away the clock,

and the endless things you think you have to do.

The water’s warm and the sun is shining,

and I just wanna spend some time with you.

Cloud Cult. “Days to Remember”
Like being Papa Tiger

There’s so much out there in the world. We often search everywhere we look for explanations. Or extrapolate out what we know to make predictions. Your little brains strive so hard to understand, and I love helping you with that quest.

But sometimes the answer is: what is, is what we need right now.

I don’t know why we’re here, and I don’t know how

But I’m here with you now, I am here with you now

Cloud Cult. “You were Born”
Week 5: Spirit Stags!

Week 5: Spirit Stags!

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Results

Dundee United 2 – 1 Ross County

The Staggies got out to a good start thanks to (who else) Regan Charles-Cook. But Regan was also the impetus for the wheels falling off the wagon late in the second half. A foul in the box by Cook gave Dundee an equalizer from the penalty spot and the defense came undone in stoppage time to drop all the points on the road.

Raya2 Expansion 2 – 0 Alebrijes

Alebrijes’ unbeaten streak almost made it to February, but even though they put up 80 minutes of a shut out, it all came undone before the final whistle with Josue Gomez’s red card the low point of the Oaxacan’s first loss this year.

Ross County 3 – 3 Rangers

Regan Charles Cook and Jordan White scored twice to take the lead. despite giving the lead back in the second half, the Stags sprung one last counter attack to grab a late equalizer from Michael Wright.

Each year Ross County seems to get a solid result against the Glasgow duopoly of Rangers or Celtic. Unlike prior years, this result comes after a strong run of form rather than as a surprising one off result, so fingers crossed that this is less an aberration than the newly competitive normal.

Alebrijes 1 – 1 Atletico Morelia

The lotto machines of Albrijes were back at it on Saturday. (Because they’re great at DRAWS…get it…no? You’re still kids…sigh…dad jokes disarmed). The team has been well served by Defensive Midfielder and iron man Jorge Sanchez. The hard news is versatile defender Ernesto Reyes got a red card near the end of the match which will force Oaxaca to play without one of their most reliable defenders.

Legon Cities FC 3 – 0 Eleven Wonders

Croster Obour has come into his own as an attacking target for Jonah Attaquye. While the Royals are still firmly stuck in the bottom half of the league, they do have enough at both ends of the pitch (see the excellent stop on a free kick at the edge of the box) to feel confident about staying up (knock on all the wood).

Not sure, but sure seems like the audio and video are out of synch….sorry.

Le Puy 2 – 2 Grenoble Foot [F]

After a few weeks laid low by COVID and bad pitches, the ladies of Grenoble were back in action this weekend and came away with a draw.

If I’m reading the summary from Grenoble Foot Info correctly (a slightly dicey proposition), it sounds like Le Puy had the advantage early on, but after half time, with the addition of Adama Tamba to the field Les Iseroises found their flow again, netting goals from defender Fanny Arpin and striker Claudia Fabre.

Ross County 1 – 1 Aberdeen

It was another weekend of quick counter attacking football for the Staggies. But the strategy that earned them a surprising lead against Rangers only gave them a glimmer of a chance against Aberdeen. Ross Laidlaw was excellent in his return to the Staggies goal and that combined with a second half goal from Ross Callachan was enough.

CD Tepatitlan de Morelos 1 – 2 Alebrijes

Julio Cesar Cruz had a heckuva game in an end to end affair that provided ample shots at goal. He bedeviled some lax defending and dominated on set pieces. (Oxaca’s speed and strength on set pieces has paid huge dividends for the side this season.) As a result, Oaxaca got their 9th point 6 weeks ahead of their pace from the fall campaign.

News & Notes

Fuck Racism

I’ve said it before, and I’ll (sadly) probably say it again, racism has no place in our society.

This week Stags striker Regan Charles Cook on the receiving end of social media abuse. Further details were unclear, but it seems likely that Rangers fans were unable to accept that they could draw with a team in good form and took it out on County’s best scorer in a way that showed just how sad and pathetic their lives are.

More than a move…

Julie Blakstad: always awesome

From our start we’ve found players to root for and care about. But we’ve only found one Julie Blakstad. The fact that she’s more your age than mine, that she works hard, has fun, and plays so flipping well, is just a delight. This week she signed with English giants Manchester City. Hard as it is to see her step away from Rosenborg, It genuinely could not happen to a more deserving person. Tusen Takk Julie!

Comings and Goings

Beyond Julie’s big move (*sniff, sniff*) there were some other things that happened before the transfer window closed on Monday.

Jordan Tell helped lead Clermont Foot to Ligue 1 last year (at the expense of Grenoble). During the first half of the year in the top flight his minutes have declined so he’ll look to lead another team back up as the newest wing partner with Yoric Ravet. The Alpiners weren’t done there bringing aboard Gambian forward Abdoulie Sanyang, and young defender Allan Tchaptchet (who spent a chunk of time at Southampton). Meanwhile Rosenborg has brought on Argentine Renzo Giampaoli, a 21 year old Right Back, from Boca Juniors. (Fingers crossed he joins Emmanuel Reynoso on our list of beloved Boca transfers to our teams).

Meanwhile, Minnesota United said adios to Tomas Chacon, the talented young Uruguayan who ended up in training purgatory and never found his way out. And Grenoble said adieu to David Henen who left for Belgium.

Long Live Aurora!

This is awesome–I regret not buying shares, but to be fair, they went pretty fast. Our new United view of Minnesota will cover both the Loons and Aurora.

Player of the Week

After the week we just had, it’s clear that we’ll need to recognize either a Stag or an Alebrije, given the better record over all, and his role marshaling the attack and delivering on set pieces, it makes sense to give the nod to Jorge Sanchez.

Standings Update

After missing a shot to top the table, Legon Cities got themselves up into second place this week with their dominant showing against Eleven Wonders. The busy week also helped Ross County and Alebrijes enforce their position off the bottom of the standings.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Freiburg2111.82.32.0
Legon Cities3121.71.70.5
Alebrijes de Oaxaca2311.51.21.0
Ross County1221.01.61.6
Grenoble0220.51.01.5
University of Montana–b——————
Rosenborg BK–b——————
Minnesota United–b——————
FK Vozdovac——————
Emelec–b——————
Punjab FC–b——————
Table Updated 2/2/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, February 2nd

Thursday, February 3rd

Friday, February 4th

Saturday, February 5th

Koln v. Freiburg [M]

Dundee FC v. Ross County

Quevilly v. Grenoble [M]

Sunday, February 6th

Eintracht Frankfurt v. Freiburg [W]

Karela United v. Legon Cities FC

Olympique Marseille v. Grenoble Foot [F]

Monday, February 7th

Tuesday, February 8th

Week 4: Making Moves

Week 4: Making Moves

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Results

Hoffenheim 1 – 4 Freiburg [M–Cup]

After the shellacking against Dortmund, Freiburg delivered one of their own to march on into the DFB Pokal quarter finals. (A contest that actually WON’T be won by either Bayern Munich or Dortmund, for a change.)

Vincenzo Grifo showed up in a big way for the Griffins. He struck the first goal, converted a hand ball penalty and held the line firm for Freiburg as Hoffenheim couldn’t convert their in league success into a win in the Cup.

Alebrijes de Oaxaca 1 – 1 UDG

Oaxaca remains unbeaten in 2022 grabbing a draw against the Black Lions. The biggest boon has been a more assertive attack that isn’t confined to blasting away from distance. The Alebrijes have managed to make some incisive runs and support each other on set pieces. Edson Santos’ run into the area is a beautiful thing to behold, as is Ernesto Reye’s blooping pass to set up Jorge Sanchez’s goal. All in all, another strong night for our side in Mexico.

Legon Cities 5 – 0 Real Athletico [Cup]

In the northern city of Tamale, the Royals had no trouble pushing past the doubly Spanish sounding Real Athletico. The team’s showing included two goals from Hans Kwofie, another one from Croster Obour, and two more from Hamza Nassiru. Things are likely to get much more difficult as the tournament goes on.

Freiburg 2 – 0 VfB Stuttgart [M]

Stuttgart was out flanked and out run by Freiburg. Kevin Schade and Vincenzo Grifo created happy hell for the Griffins and got a valuable win to stay in the thick of the hunt for Europe.

Livingston 1 – 0 Ross County [Cup]

The Stags saw cup hopes crash out against Livvie. The stout defense gave up an uncharacteristic penalty and couldn’t find an equalizer.

Grenoble v. Niort [M] Postponed

Sigh…there’s that COVID postponement we almost thought we had dodged. Sadly the positive cases in Grenoble have further slowed the start to the Alpiner’s 2022.

Bibiani Gold Stars 2 – 1 Legon Cities FC

The Royals went up on a first half goal from Osman Amadu. But they couldn’t hold on to the lead away from home.

Grenoble v. Yzeure Allier [F] Postponed

And as if the men’s team wasn’t enough, the sides that train together contract COVID together. Best wishes to all the front line responders in the French Alps. The true MVPs of this whole Pandemic shenanigans.

News & Notes

Comings and Goings

Long standing Ross County defender Tom Grivositi has seen his playing time decline, so it’s not terribly surprising that he packed up and left for a team where he’ll be able to show his skills more openly. Still, he helped get the Stags to the Premiership, and his efforts for the club should not be forgotten.

As one of the teams between seasons, it makes sense that Rosenborg both lost and added players this last week. The loss is a tough one with young attacker Emil Konradssen Ceide heading out of town. We really like Emil, but the chance to play in Italy’s top league (with Sassuolo) is too good to pass up. He’ll be replaced by a athletic young defender, Tobias Borkeeiet, who should be ready to run anywhere and everywhere.

Left Winger Bruno Pitton will bring a wealth of experience from Argentina’s top flight to Emelec. He has struggled of late, but with 120 caps he should be ready to build los Bombillos attack. As an added bonus: We Get to talk about Bruno!

African Cup of Nations/Corrections

Our last/only rep

Lots of Great Women’s News

Though they aren’t officially linked with Minnesota United, if we take that idea of United at value, and we respect the tonnage of our fellow United fans who own shares of the new Minnesota Women’s Soccer team, then we need to be every bit as excited about the newest representative of the women’s game in our league. SO: This Thursday, we’ll have a new local favorite: Aurora, Arctic, Firefox. This is gonna be fun.

And in case that wasn’t enough our Minnesota-Montana connection got a little bit stronger with Edina High’s First Team all Minnesota: Bayliss Finn! Here’s to keeping the merry-go-round going: Minnesota–Missoula–Minnesota…Mwah.

Oh…last thing…

I’m 39 now…so all the sleepiness all the time makes sense.

Player of the Week

No two ways around it: Vincenzo Grifo gave it his all and boosted Freiburg just at a moment when they needed it most. Many many thanks to Vincenzo for leading the way, making himself something close to Mr. Freiburg.

Standings Update

The early stage of the season has once again shifted the leaderboard, Freiburg now takes top honors, though Legon Cities squandered their shot with that last loss.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Freiburg2111.82.32.0
Alebrijes de Oaxaca1201.71.30.7
Ross County1011.51.51.0
Legon Cities2121.41.40.6
Grenoble0120.30.71.3
University of Montana–b——————
Rosenborg BK–b——————
Minnesota United–b——————
FK Vozdovac——————
Emelec–b——————
Punjab FC–b——————
Table Updated 1/26/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 26th

Dundee United v. Ross County

Raya2 Expansion v. Alebrijes

Thursday, January 27th

Friday, January 28th

Saturday, January 29th

Ross County v. Rangers

Alebrijes v. Atletico Moreila

Sunday, January 30th

Legon Cities FC v. Eleven Wonders

Le Puy v. Grenoble Foot [F]

Monday, January 31st

Tuesday, February 1st

Ross County v. Aberdeen

CD Tepatitlan de Morelos v. Alebrijes

Week 2: Alebrijes Alright, Alright, Alright

Week 2: Alebrijes Alright, Alright, Alright

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Results

Alebrijes 2 – 0 Cancun FC

It sure looks like Alebrijes got off to a stronger start this year than in previous campaigns we’ve watched (it might help that Cancun was the rare team that had a worst fall than Oaxaca did). Newly permanent member of the team Juan Antonio Portales kicked off a full season of captaincy with an ironclad defense and two strong goals. Ernesto Reyes led the way with a beautiful blast from well outside the box early on and Miguel Vallejo dropped another on a break away during stoppage time to seal it. Here’s hoping this is a sign of a better season to come.

Freiburg 2 – 2 Arminia Bielefeld [M]

For most of the first half Freiburg looked the better side, but Arminia Bielefeld made a competent comeback against reserve keeper Benjamin Uphoff (in place of COVID positive Mark Flekken)

Grenoble 0 – 1 Auxerre [M]

Grenoble’s return to the field was a lot like their last four outings. It was a loss, and the offense could not hit the target. Over those 5 losses they’ve only scored twice…..

Grenoble 2 – 3 [Pen] Rodez [F-Cup]

The Women’s Coupe de France is a big battle bringing together teams from every corner of the Francophone world. The ladies of Grenoble seemed to be in good shape after a 7-0 dominant showing against Hellicourt. They showed up well against Rodez the top team in their division, despite losing Tiphaine Brissonet to a red card early in the match. Ultimately they were undone at the penalty spot and out of the competition.

Dreams FC 0 – 1 Legon Cities FC

Legon Cities got another road win, this time against a scuffling Dreams side who may well have deserved better. Obour Adu was everywhere on his debut for the Royals getting both the winning goal, and staggering the side post with a near miss. In between events, the team even stood up to a penalty kick for their hosts and walked away with all three points.

Tampico Madiero 1 – 1 Alebrijes

Oaxaca got off to another great start against Tampico (the previously named Jaibos). Left back Edson Santos sent in a great cross that was met by a surprising header from Josue Gomez to put them up. But from then on the team had to bunker down and absorb another attack every few minutes while getting nothing going the other way. Ernesto Reyes in particular had some great stops, but also a terrible bout of positioning that allowed the equalizer.

News & Notes

Extra Accolades

The Griz Soccer team already has a bundle of awards from the last year, so let’s add a couple more on to the pile!

The Griz were one of only 13 teams in the top tier of college soccer given the Team Ethics and Sportsmanship award, in no small part because they managed to dominate the league while having a paltry 13 cards against them. As this is a teachable-moment, parent focused website, we are impressed with this award and say, as we always do: GO GRIZ!

As if that weren’t enough, there was also an extra nod given to Griz keeper, Camellia Xu (Whose name I’ve been botching all year…sorry!). The British Columbia Native was invited to the Canadian Under 20 International Team training camp. It’s the first step on the long road to the senior national team …like Dayne St Clair! Basically we love Canadian goalies.

Comings and Goings

The big new addition this week was Minnesota United bringing in South African international Bongokuhle Hlongwane (nicknamed Sanisa). His signing was greeted with cheers by desperate Loons fans looking for another striker, and with cheers from South African fans who are equally thrilled to have a promising young player in line to show his skill in an international league.

Also on board this week: the Loons drafted St. Johns University product Tani Oluwaseyi, and Gustavo Canto, the Argentine Center Back on his way to Emelec. Meanwhile, Ross County brought in a loanee Declan Drysdale, and Vozdovac brought on striker Aleksandar Cirkovic who is still just 20 but has already played in Austria and Spain.

But with everyone coming there are some going as well, Ross County said goodbye to loanee Harry Clark, but they’ll see him again soon enough when the face Hibernian in Edinburgh. Rosenborg also said some farewells to their bench depth, Besim Serbecic and Gjermund Åsen.

African Cup of Nations

There’s always a thrill competing for your country. Usually it happens during the summer when the leagues are quiet, but Africa’s biggest contest happens in the winter. Grenoble has three players on different squads in Cameroon: Joseph Mendes (Guinea Bissau), Mamadou Diallo (Guinea), and Willy Semedo (Cape Verde).

Player of the Week

Getting points from two matches has finally broken the PoW drought for Alebrijes de Oaxaca. While Ernesto Reyes had the most appearances on the highlight reel, we’re going to look at the captain who helped organize the defense and set up a strong showing for the southern Mexico side. We’re happy to name Juan Antonio Portales, the new captain of the squad and stalwart defender as this week’s Player of the Week.

Standings Update

After languishing at the bottom of the table last year, Alebrijes tops the 2022 Edition two weeks into the year.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Alebrijes de Oaxaca1102.01.50.5
Legon Cities1011.50.50.5
Freiburg0101.02.02.0
Grenoble0020.01.02.0
University of Montana–b——————
Rosenborg BK–b——————
Minnesota United–b——————
FK Vozdovac——————
Ross County——————
Emelec–b——————
Punjab FC–b——————
Table Updated 1/12/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 12th

Thursday, January 13th

Friday, January 14th

Dortmund v. Freiburg [M]

Saturday, January 15th

Guingamp v. Grenoble [M]

Sunday, January 16th

LePuy v. Grenoble [F]

Monday, January 17th

Legon Cities FC v. Bechem United

Tuesday, January 18th

Ross County v. Motherwell

Year 2

Year 2

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I started this blog two years ago back before “pandemic” and “nasal swab” were words in daily conversation. It’s been wonderful to keep a hold of one normal-ish routine in a supremely surreal time.

Here’s how things shook out in 2021 among our favorite 11 sides on the planet.

Final Standings

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana22182.161.50.7
Rosenborg BK419152.032.31.2
Emelec2711141.771.61.2
Punjab FC8461.561.20.9
Freiburg2611231.481.71.5
Grenoble2210221.411.21.2
Minnesota United1310121.401.21.3
Legon Cities1310151.291.11.0
FK Vozdovac1311161.251.11.4
Ross County149201.191.31.5
Alebrijes714121.061.21.6
Table Updated 12/31/21

It’s one thing to have a superlative season after COVID, win your league and make a superb showing in unlikely circumstances. It’s another to do it again a couple months later. But that’s exactly what the University of Montana Griz did this year, and that’s why they ran away with this year’s cup. (U of M soccer jerseys are not available, but rest assured, I will find a way to be as close to full kit dork as possible.)

Emelec came away with the other 2021 trophy we commemorated on that part of the site, but couldn’t pass the dynamic duo of teams in Trondheim…even though neither of them won so much as a silver pudding spoon this year. Still, never bet against Julie Blakstad.

Most teams improved on the last campaign (which is saying something for as woeful as Alebrijes was), only Grenoble, Minnesota United, and FK Vozdovac saw regressions (however the Loons and the Dragons both stayed in good position for the standings…Grenoble, well…the spring was fun.)

Players of the Year

I so deeply enjoyed naming a team of XI favorites, that I took time to track the weekly award winners and sort out who showed up for their team week in and week out.

In goal it was a brutal choice: but We had to opt for the legend: Claire Howard who made the Griz so dominant in the spring and won a pair of player of the week honors.

The back line also had a strong set of selections to draw from. Attention had to be paid to four players who kept up the intensity at both ends of the pitch for four teams who broadly exceeded expectations. Jerome Mombris takes his second straight top XI selections while Romario Caicedo worked wonders in Emelec. Meanwhile Taylor Hansen was absolutely dominant as a Griz captain, and Christian Gunter was one of only three players to get two PoW winners.

The midfield sees two more repeat honorees on the left side with Julie Blakstad and Emanuel Reynoso returning with honors. The other side of the midfield sees two new names who are absolutely invaluable to their respective sides, with Jonah Attaquye masterminding the few attacks that have worked for Legon, and Hasret Kayici, you might say as she goes, so go die Frauen auf Frieburg.

Instead of shouting out the most dominant goal scorers at the spear head of the attack, we opted for decisive ones: Roundglass Punjab’s Chenchyo Geltsen and Vozdovac’s Nicola Vujnovic.

As for the bench, we had to slot the third double PoW winner here (sorry Kiran Limbu…you’re just not Claire Howard). The best defenses of the year (Legon and Rosenborg) came away with the two defensive bench spots: Erland Reitan and Joseph Adjei (the only honoree without a PoW). Joseph Hungbo’s recent run of amazing form and stellar goals gave him the rights to Ross County’s spot on the side, and Kristoffer Zacharissen’s dreamy eyes great leadership for half the year got him dropped onto the bench this year. Finally we kept the top scorers for two under represented sides as our scoring sparks off the bench: Adama Tamba for les femmes de Grenoble, and Kerly Corozco for las Electricas de Emelec.

This year we couldn’t find a way to work in a representative of Alebrijes: too many strong showings owed to the other side collapsing rather than an excellent performance on their end.

Finally, I just want to point out how tight the competition was for goalkeeper this year with three players who didn’t even get close to the bench: Winifred Honsu came out of nowhere to replace Fatua Duda in Legon, Pedro Ortiz remains indefatigable for both club and country, and Camila Xu thrilled us as just a freshman.

What’s Next

Let’s do it again shall we?

Oh, okay, maybe we’ll be more selective in our video taping (what with Alex starting to refuse and Owen mostly wanting to see himself…hmmm…maybe he’s got a future in punditry).

One thing I’m going to aim for in 2022: let’s see if we can get some conversations with people from the clubs…players…managers…confused communication interns…I’m not picky.

64. Forces of Change, Changing your Force

64. Forces of Change, Changing your Force

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A few weeks ago, while driving into work, I heard a summary of political philosophy that neatly captured what I see in society, soccer, and myself.

Put simply: everyone wants to act in response to problems we see. Progressives want to do something while conservatives want to stop something in progress or undo something that’s been done.

Dear Boys,

I’m not about to pretend which point of view I prefer (particularly in politics–hint it starts with a P and ends with “rogressive”.) But as the pundits pointed out both instincts can lead to unintended consequences.

Je pense le meme Adrien (from the Athletic)

Start with my progressive view. Like a lot of folks I want to see my teams make some changes when they struggle. That’s when I start begging for Alebrijes to switch their system, or for the Loons to sign a big striker, or for Ross County to bring in a new coach.

But those changes that many in fan bases yearn for don’t yield immediate results and fail as often as they succeed. Alebrijes might not have the players to make any system work. Adrien Hunou might not find the goal for a couple months. Your team may hire a racist…etc. etc.

The conservative approach is no less fraught. The glory days are so enticing that it’s natural to want to go back. Bring back Jessy Benet in Grenoble, increase the focus on the men’s team at Rosenborg, or undo the appointment of the manager with a few weeks under his belt (see: Tottenham Hotspur).

These too assume that everything can return to the way they were (despite the fact that context, and surroundings, and everything else has changed around them). Jessy’s got a new club. Rosenborg aren’t the league titans they once were. Tottenham’s squad isn’t the fresh faced world beaters they were a few years ago.

This is not possible

The same is true at a personal level.

The more I try to make things the way that I want them to be, the more I struggle, grapple, and grow frustrated.

Whether it’s control in the classroom, or getting you boys to brush your teeth when I want you to, the more I try to do/undo something, the less likely I am to do anything differently.

But, when I accept that things are the way they are, and my role is to bring my full self to them, the more I add to the space, add to the experience, and change it for the better.

Being present with you is so much more meaningful for all of us (and makes brushing fun). Sending love and concern into my classroom yields much more than exerting control over the situation.

On the pitch too, bringing your full self into a space can create a better, more valuable experience for everyone. Think of Coach Citowicki in Missoula, whose manners and approach have given kids at a smaller school professional opportunities and enabled a transition from one generation to the next (see Claire Howard and Camila Xu).

When you are fully present rather than distracted by what you want to make happen, you find a pleasure in what is. The Griz can see that Big Sky titles are beautiful themselves. Freiburg’s loyalty and appreciation of the understated Christian Streich has built the environment for their best season in years.

We get caught up talking about and fixating on the forces of change: how the world ought to be and what tools to make it so. We want to be a force for change in the world. But hard as it is, I believe we ought to resist that temptation, and instead of being a force for change, change your force to quiet grace.